If you’ve been to the Facebook website recently, you’ve probably noticed there’s something different about it.

After a couple seconds, you realize what’s changed: there’s a new statement from Facebook about the nature of its services. Now when you sign up or log in, you’ll see the following message: Sign Up | It’s free (and always will be)

Facebook fees have long been the subject of email chain letters, Facebook group invites and other sources that write the book on urban legends. The rumors tend to follow the same basic form: “On (this date), Facebook will charge you (this dollar amount) to use Facebook.”

Time and time again, Facebook has countered the false reports, reaffirming that Facebook started off free, and its creators intend to keep things that way. There’s even a post in the Facebook Help Center that explains that Facebook is free.

Still, the stories and scares continue to thrive. A quick search in Facebook for “Facebook charges” brings up various Page, group and web results that would make you think Facebook’s going to start charging fees tomorrow.

By putting a statement right on the home page, Facebook has shown that it’s determined to do some serious myth-busting.

Do you think Facebook’s action will help? Will Facebook finally have the “last word”? Or will the fear of fees continue to rule?

Shannon
Director of Internet Marketing
www.facebook.com/keywebconcepts
twitter.com/keywebconcepts

1. Create a Mood

The most effective designs have the ability to make us react a certain way, to feel happy or sad or comfortable or on edge or whatever the situation calls for.  With innate emotional connotations, the right colors can be the single most important factor in creating the right feeling for a particular project.

The McDonalds website makes great use of its iconic red color.  Red, besides being one of the colors most effective at stimulating the appetite, can also create a feeling of energy and happiness if used in the right palette.

The logo of the The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation uses a warm palette of orange, gold and pink to create a real feeling of positivity and energy, which combine with the lively icon to create a real message of forward movement.

2. Make an Association

In addition to making us a feel a certain way, the right colors can also make us think of and make associations with certain things, an important consideration if you really want to create the right look.

With its deep brown and dark rustic red, the Sky’s Guide Service website immediately makes you think of rough and tough outdoorsmen.  The rich textures enhance the site to create a great visual for the visitor.

Designed by Jacob Cass, one of our favorite reads on the web, the logo for UKE utilizes a strong, deep purple to make a visual connection with royalty.  Selling chocolate gift baskets to an upscale market, the logo effectively communicates a refined, sophisticated image.

3. Create Emphasis

Through brightness and contrast, color can also be valuable tool to create visual interest in strategic areas and direct the viewer’s focus.

The Taami Berry website utilizes a simple layout and soft, earthy, off-white background augmented with punches of red to direct the visitor’s eye to key elements such as the logo, slider and shopping cart.

The colors of the British flag are used cleverly in the UK Space Agency logo.  Juxtaposed with blue, a calmer, more static color, the powerful red directs your eye to the UK and the focal point of the upward-pointing arrow.

4. Unify a Design

One of the most important functions of a strong and consistent color palette is to unify a design, to give it the appearance of being a single, purposeful, cohesive unit.  Furthermore, across a variety of different materials, a consistent use of color can really strengthen a brand.

The Product Superior logo, website and business card all make use of a bright, distinctive blue and green to create a strong brand for the business.  Perhaps more importantly, these colors are used consistently across all of their materials to create a unified message.

5. Define Structure

Color can be used for organizational purposes as well, to define certain elements of a design and distinguish them from others.  Especially in web design, this can be a useful strategy for creating a clear site structure and hierarchy and for clearly communicating to the visitor where they are within your site.

Cubicle Ninjas has a collection of six different one-page websites, each devoted to a different type of print material. The sites make use of a common navigation across the top of the page, but each site is assigned a prominent background color to clearly separate it from the others.  We also see a good selection of color in terms of connotation and emotional reaction; the brown of the white paper site immediately communicates a more restrained, professional tone than the intense red or punchy blue of the poster and business card sites.

]]> http://keywebconcepts.com/blog/2010/07/10/5-ways-to-use-color-to-enhance-a-design/feed/ 2 http://keywebconcepts.com/blog/2010/07/06/how-do-i-look/ http://keywebconcepts.com/blog/2010/07/06/how-do-i-look/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:53:16 +0000 J Ivy http://keywebconcepts.com/blog/?p=414

Note: this post was inspired by a post by Gareth from Down With Design, the original can be read here

Custom VS. Pre-Packaged Designs

Your logo is the first impression customers have of you. Maybe they see it on your website, or on a business card or mailer they received. Wouldn’t you want to be represented by something that says “you”? This is what branding is all about. You want imagery that is unique, interesting and memorable. You want something that will stick with your customers long after you have provided the goods or services they were looking for, so that in the future they will return and want to do more business with you.

On the Internet there are millions of images, clipart and pre-created logos just floating around. They were created by someone at some point to serve some purpose. The issue with these pre-packaged designs is not only are most of them copyrighted, but also they were created with someone else in mind…not your company.

It’s like walking into a bakery and looking for a wedding cake that will look beautiful, fit with the ceremony, make you happy and fulfill all of your needs but settling on that 3 day old doughnut. To get the cake of your dreams you would need to talk to the pastry chef. A pastry chef has studied cakes and knows exactly what to do to make your cake look and taste great. A pastry chef will take his or her expertise and work with you to make your dream come true. The two of you would sit down and plan: How many guests does the cake need to feed? What colors are in your ceremony? What ideas do you have as far as patterns and designs? And after that they would bake a cake just for you, not for Debbie down the street or Joe your plumber, but you.

Switching back to design….

This is where designers come in. We listen to your needs, and find how you want to be represented, and what demographic you want to appeal to. Then we create. We create things just for you. Whether it’s a brand new logo, business cards, brochure, or website, it being designed specifically for your needs. You’ll get that dream cake, not a stale doughnut.

J Ivy
Graphic Designer at Key Web Concepts

Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.
–Paul Rand

Before now, you could not remove the original creator of a Page.  Whoever first set up a company’s Page was essentially its permanent curator (or at least one of them).

This automatic status created various headaches for businesses.  For some companies, they were stuck with an external person still exercising control after switching Page management from a third-party firm to an employee or a division in-house.

Problems would also arise if an employee was abusing his or her privileges as a Page Administrator.  Companies were pretty much helpless if said employee decided to post irrelevant statuses or divulge personal information to the business’ audience.  They were unable remove that Admin.

One of the biggest headaches was what could be done if any employee who oversaw a Page quit or was fired. If that person left on bad terms and wanted to delete the Page, he or she had the perfect opportunity to do so.  Even if the split was amicable, there was still the issue of protecting sensitive company data from someone no longer with the company.

Thanks to this welcome (and long overdue) change, companies should be able to breathe a bit easier.

With all of that said . . . .

How Do I Remove A Facebook Page Administrator?

It’s pretty simple to remove an Admin.

1. Log in to Facebook, and access your Page normally.
2. Underneath your Page’s profile picture, you’ll notice an “Edit Page” link.  Click on that link.
3. Now you’re looking at your Page’s dashboard/control panel.  Scroll down to the “Admin” section (it’ll be on the right-hand side).
4. You’ll see the pictures and names of all Page Admins. Underneath each entry is a “Remove Admin” link.  Click on the appropriate link to remove the person you who will no longer be managing the Page.

*A note of caution: Be careful when you choose an Admin to remove!  Facebook doesn’t ask you to confirm your selection or if you’re sure you want to take this action.  Exercise caution so you don’t accidentally delete yourself.

Shannon
Director of Internet Marketing
www.facebook.com/keywebconcepts
twitter.com/keywebconcepts

This post will be the first of a series of posts on usability and user experience. Today we will focus on the basics to get a solid foundation for building more usable websites.

Usability vs. User Experience

Be sure not to confuse usability with user-experience which, while related, encompasses a whole different set of considerations. Usability is about the ability to use something. Can the user find what they need without trouble or errors? Can they use the object for its intended purpose without question or confusion? Is the purpose clear? These are all questions raised when evaluating usability.

On the other hand, user experience is all about emotions. How does the user feel while using the item? Does the object give the user a sense of happiness? Does the user feel more important or superior by using the item?

User experience is an exciting topic that I will touch on in the future, but we will focus on usability first because without a high level of usability, a great user experience is not possible. A product which is hard to use will always yield a poor user experience.

So to get things started on our mission to make people happy, we will focus on mastering usability.

The Importance of Usability

Whether you knew it or not, you are quite familiar with usability. In fact, we are all usability experts in our own right because we know what we like and do not like. Quite simply, if a product is not straightforward in its purpose and if we can’t figure out how to use it within 2-5 seconds, there is a high percentage chance that we will not purchase the product.

Websites are no different.  In fact, our usability gauges are set even lower when it comes to viewing and using websites. If a website user cannot figure out their way around your website in less than 3 seconds, they will likely become confused, disoriented and ultimately leave your website.

So if usability is such an important part of your website, how do you ensure that your site is user friendly? I thought you’d never ask! Let’s take a look at the basics to ensure that you make your website users happy and keep them happy.

The Essentials to Usability

1. Always remember: “Make it easy”
   Above all, you must always keep in mind the goal of usability: Make it easy. Frustration and confusion are the worst things for a website user to experience while using your website. These traits will almost always result in the user leaving your website and you missing out on a potential opportunity for new business. Make it easy. People like to feel like they know what they are doing; it makes them happy (yes, that’s an user-experience benefit of usability).
2. Get to know your user
   If you are trying to please someone, it makes sense to learn everything you can about them. Knowing your user’s demographic will allow you to set goals and priorities for your website. For example, if your demographic is primarily 45-70 years old, you shouldn’t assume your users will be internet savvy. That information could help you decide the types of features to include or to avoid.
3. Don’t abandon the expected
   Do not get me wrong on this one, you should always reach for new and better way of doing things; however, you can alienate users by doing too much. There are certain nuances that are expected when browsing a website that you are best off sticking to unless you truly think your users will appreciate it (in most cases that is doubtful). For example, most internet users expect a logo or some form of recognizable branding to be prominently placed at the very top of the page and a navigation to be very near to that. Also, many users know that the logo should have a link to the home page on it. These are all things your user expects (but there are many more). If you do not abide by the unwritten laws of the web, users will be annoyed. Certainly shoot for the moon to wow your users but always evaluate the costs of abandoning the expected.
4. Don’t make people think
   This one is borrowed from Steve Krug, one of the foremost experts on website usability. His number one rule for website usability is “don’t make me think.” In fact, he has a book entitled “Don’t Make Me Think.” He means just that:  do not make your users think by giving them too many options or by not defining a clear hierarchy of importance. Krug points out that website users do not read. They scan at best. Everyone is in a hurry on the internet and any extra step you give a user slows them down and gives them one more reason to leave your website. If you are fascinated or even just mildly interested in usability, be sure to read Krug’s book.
5. Remember content is king
   Flashy graphics and illustrations are like energy drinks: they work great first at first, but without natural energy, you will crash later. Great graphics are good, but they should always be secondary to your content and should only aid in guiding the user’s understanding of your content. Well written content is essential, and to be well written it must be written for the web only because the web is unlike any other media. As I mentioned earlier, website users are in a hurry and want to absorb as much information in as little time as possible. Short paragraphs, descriptive headlines and sub-headlines, and highlighted key points are all great ways to give the user every they need to know very quickly. So keep the graphics subdued and the content to the point.

Effective web usability is a detailed and sometimes complex issue which some large corporations pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to get right. Unless you are a multi-million dollar company, you can’t afford to spend that kind of money for detailed usability analysis. However, there are some ways to get it right without breaking the bank. Start with the basics listed in this article to get started.  When I revisit this subject in the coming months, I will talk about user testing on the cheap and other cost-effective methods for ensuring usability.

Mike Shelton
Web Designer at Key Web Concepts

Branding is one of the single most important factors in determining how your company is perceived by potential customers.  Not a big surprise to most.  It will define your business’s appearance, its personality, its demographic and even its values.   Perhaps more than any other factor, the colors you adopt are central to creating this first impression.  And still it seems that color is not always given the attention it warrants by some business owners.

It’s easy to overlook.  After all, what’s so complicated about color?  Does it really matter if your marketing materials are green instead of blue?  Yes.  In fact, even the specific shade of blue you choose can make a big difference.  We attach all kinds of emotional and symbolic meanings to colors, sometimes consciously but most often without even thinking about it.  Needless to say, it’s important to be aware of these overtones and use them to enhance your message.

Some of the services that were already around include bit.ly, tinyurl.com, ow.ly and is.gd.

Now, other recognizable names are getting in on the act too. Facebook and Google both announced this month that they have their own URL shortening services (fb.me and goo.gl, respectively). YouTube also has added the service for sharing shorter video links (they start with youtu.be).

Who do you think will be the next one to add their URL shortening service to the mix? Or is this all a passing fad?

Shannon
New Media & SEO Specialist, Copywriter
http://www.facebook.com/keywebconcepts
http://twitter.com/keywebconcepts

Below are some highlights of the data from Nielsen Wire’s November article, as well as a comparison of October’s and November’s numbers.

But while Experian Hitwise reported that Google’s and Yahoo’s percentages fell, and Bing’s search share increased, Nielsen tells a story that’s a bit different. Google gained 2% , and it was Yahoo and Bing that each lost a point.

Shannon
New Media & SEO Specialist, Copywriter
http://www.facebook.com/keywebconcepts
http://twitter.com/keywebconcepts